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JULY 4, 1876. 



OEXTENMAl. CELEBRATION, 



Canton, Mass. 



HISTOKICAL ADDRESS, 



II ox. c II A K L i:.s i-:x nico tt 



BOSTON: 

WILLIAM HKNSK, riUNTEU, 3.0 CONGRESS STREET. 

I S76. 



j r I . N' 4 , I S 7 6 



( 1-:MEX\ 1 a I. CELE];J{ ATIOX 



Canton, Mass. 



TIISTORrCAL AI)I)RI]SS, 



HON. CIlARI.i:S I'XDICOir 



B o s r O N : 

WII.I.IA.M I'.KNSi:, I'UINTKR, 3.5 CONCIIESS STREET, 

I S 7 r, . 



[Public Resolutions, No. 1.] 

Joint Resolution on the Celebration of the Centennial in the several 
counties or towns. 

Be it Resolved hy the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of 
America, in Congress assembled, That it be, and is hereby recommended by the Sen- 
ate and House of Representatives, to the people of the several States, that they 
assemble in their several counties or towns on the approaching Centennial Anni- 
versary of our National Independence, and that they cause to have delivered on such 
day an historical sketch of said county or town from its formation, and that a copy of 
said sketch may be filed, in print or manuscript, in the clerk's oflBce of said county, 
and an additional copy, in print or manuscript, be filed in the office of the Librarian 
of Congress, to the intent that a complete record may be obtained of the progress of 
our institutions during the first Centennial of their existence. 

Approved, March 13, 1876. 



Commonwealth of Massachcsetts. 



House of Representatives, 
April 27, 1876. 

Ordered, That the Secretary of the Commonwealth transmit to the clerks of the 
several cities and towns in the Commonwealth a copy of the joint Resolution of Con- 
gress on the celebration of the Centennial, in the several counties or towns, trans- 
mitted to the Senate by his Excellency the Governor, April 24, 1876. 

Geo. a. Harden, Cleric. 

Concurred. Senate, April 28, 1876. 

S. N. GiFFORD, Clerk. 



r. 



Ski:tch oi- riii: Celebration. 



Ix accordance with the foicj^oing recomincndation, a puhlic 
meeting was lield in Massapoag Hall, on the scventli day of June, 
1S76, to take into consideration the subject of a Centennial Ad- 
dress and Celebration in Canton, on the fourth of July following. 
The meeting was t"ull\ altendiil, and the object for which it was 
called met the hearty approval of the citizens of the town gene- 
erally. Another meeting was held at the same place a week 
later, and the folhjwing connnittees were chosen to make the 
necessary arrangements for tlie proposed celebration. 

Genekal Committee. J. Mason Everett, Elijah A. Morse, 
Ezra S. Brewster, Samuel H. Capen, -Arthur C. KoUock, David 
T. I lagan, Thomas E. Grover, W. 1 Iciny Bense, and Frank L. 
Gates. 

Finance. I'./ra S. Brewster, George F. .^uniiier, losej^h W. 
C. Seavey, Andrew A. Harrington, William B. Ri.\ ere, William 
F. Colby, and William E. Lonergan. 

HlsToiiic.M. Addiiess AND 1 WTiATioNs. Arthur C Kollock . 
Joseph W. C. Seavev, Robert Draper, Daniel T. \'. llunloon, 
Thomas E. Grover, J. Mason Everett, and (ieorge F. Sumner, 

Mlsic. George I\ II. Ibfi ton, Edward R. Hixon, Larra E. 
Wentworth, Joseph W. C. Seavt.-\-, and Aiidiiw Lopev, Ji, 

FiHEWOHKs. Richard IlowartI, Larra E. W entwoilli, Samuel 
II. Capen, Nathaniel Bent, Edgar II, Deane, William II. Little, 
and W. Henry Bense. 

A Committee of Ladies, cf)nsisting ot' Mrs. Frank M. Ames, 
Mrs. Arthur C. Kollock, Mrs. I'^mma I'. Capen, and Miss Georgic 



4 
A. Shepard, was also appointed, who organized the choir, and 
had charge of the music at the church. 

The celebration begun on the morning of the "Fourth" with 
a procession of " Antiques and Horribles," under the command 
of Mr. John S. Wattles, chief marshal. 

The commemorative services were lield in the meeting house of 
the First Congregational Parish, at two o'clock in the afternoon. 
The church had been generously offered for that purpose by the 
Society worshipping there, and its interior was tastefully decorated 
for the occasion. Thomas E. Grover, Esq. acted as President of 
the Day. 

The Canton Brass Band, Walter Ames, leader, furnished mvi- 
sic for the exercises of the morning and evening. 

The celebration closed with fire-works on '' Orthodox Hill," 
and bonfires on the summits of Billings Hill and Blue Hill. 

The following is a copy of the Order of Exercises at the church. 



]TTO. 




18^6. 



Goiiteiiiiial Gelebratioii 



I^Hfttinn l!)oiisf of fljr- /irst (CoiiqiTfCitional p;uislj, 



Ca)i(o)i, .lArvv., July 4. 1S76. 



'^X^ 



Order of Exercises. 



8. 
9- 

lO. 

1 1. 

12. 



Organ Voluntary, Miss Clara B. Lopez. 

Reading from the Scriptures, Rev. John W. Savage. 

Prayer, Rev. William H. Savary. 

Chorus, — Centeitnial Hytnn^ — y. K. Pame. 
Introductory Address, Thomas E. Grover, Esq. 

Chorus, — ''''To Thee^ O Country I '" — yulius Eichberg. 
Reading of the Declaration of Independence. 

Miss J. Annie Bense. 
Cliorus, — American Hymn^ — Keller. 

Historical Address, Hon. Charles Endicott. 

Chorus, — " The Star Spangled Banner.'^ 
Addresses by Citizens. 
Hymn, — " America." 

THE AUDIENCE ARE REQUESTED TO JOIN IN SINGING THIS HYMN. 



My country, 't is of thee, 
Sweet land of libei-ty , 

Of thee I sing : 
Land Athere my fathers died. 
Land of the pilgrim's pride, 
From every mountain's side 

Let freedom ring. 

My native country, thee. 
Land of the noble free, 

Thy name I love; 
I love thy rocks and rills, 
Thy woods and ten)pled hills. 
My heart with rapture thrills, 

Like that above. 

13. Benediction, 



Let music swell the breeze, 
And ring from all the trees 

Sweet freedom's song; 
Let mortal tongues awake, 
Let all that breathe partake, 
Let rocks their silence break, ' 

The sound prolong. 

Our Father's God, to thee, 
Author of liberty. 

To thee we sing ; 
Long may our land be bright 
With Freedom's holy light. 
Protect us with thy might. 

Great God, our King ! 

Rev. Clifton Fletcher. 



In TRODUCTom' Addrkss, 



T I ! n M A S I- . ( ; R O \' I^ R. R S O 



Ladies and Gkntlemkx: 

One hundred years ago to-day the old bell in 
IiKlependence Hall rung out the glad tidings that a new nation 
had been born. Dependent colonies then became independent 
States ; scattered Cf>ninuniities were uniteil and became a nation. 
Standing, as we ncnv do, at the threshold of tlie second century ot 
national existence, it is not onlv proper, but it is our duty, to honor 
the occasion bv worthv antl appropriate exercises. In the century 
past, wc find much to excite our pride and admiration, mingled 
with some things we woukl gladlv tbrget. 1 will not tire you 
bv rec<junting our virtues, nor will I disturb \()U bv dwelling upon 
our misfortunes. We rejtjice that a whole countr\ can unite with 
one acci>rd in remembrance of tlie event we ha\c htir met to 
connnemorate ; we rejoice that each dav is carrying us t'aillier 
fn»m llie burning passions and l)itter griefs growing out ot' the 
bite conllict, and tiiat tlie soothing hand of time is mellowing into 
tenderness the memories it has kit us. We ha\e no desire to tmii 
liack tlie seasons, and to li\e over again those sears so hea\ \ 
with dread anticipations of the t'uture. To-dav we ha\e gatheied 
for the more pleasing task of recounting tiie achievements of those 
patriotic men who, a century ago, were engaged in the great 
contest with the mother country. We, who dwill in .Massa- 
clnisctts, have particular reasons for joining in this eiKbralion. 



8 

It is not claiming too much for our grand old Commonwealth to 
say that, to her, more than to any other, is this country indebted 
for its free institutions, its republican form of government, and 
whatever of liberty these secure. She bore more than her share 
in the revolutionary struggle ending in our independence, and no 
characters in history stand out more boldly and grandly than her 
leaders in those perilous times. The men who, at the beginning, 
formed the councils, and directed the destiny of this nation, were 
not common men. Measure them by any human standard and 
you cannot find their superiors. In all their acts they seemed led 
by an enlightened and intelligent patriotism, which raised them 
above prejudice, or passion. Their devotion to their native 
land was founded in great principles, and supported by great vir- 
tues, — qualities that only the noblest characters can claim. We 
may justly boast of our progress, of our wealth, and 'of our 
material prosperity, but after all, their example is to-day our 
richest inheritance, and most priceless possession. Here, under 
their guiding hands, was first established that consummate form 
of government which, carried out as it never had been before, se- 
cured freedom to a whole people. It was the application of a 
principle to practical government that till then had been considered 
only as the idle vision of dreamers, and which found its expression 
in the Declaration of Independence, "that noble instrument," 
a late historian observes, " that should be hung up in the nur- 
sery of every king and blazoned on the walls of every royal 
palace." The liberty they gained for themselves and for their 
descendants, did not, however, arise from the excitement of the 
hour. It was the slow growth of ages, brought hither from other 
lands, but planted here under a free sky, and in a noble soil, it 
produced a bountiful harvest, which, in good time let us trust, w^ill 
yet develop into more perfect ripeness. 

To-day the past and the future part at the door of the new 
century. The past is secure, the future depends upon the ability 
of this and coming generations to maintain the strict integrity, and 
practice the stern virtues of the founders of the Republic. Let 
not their example be forgotten, lest the lesson it teaches should 
also perish. 



ORATION, 



Hon. CHARLF.S ENDICOTT. 



Fkli.ow Citizens : 

On tliis Centennial Anniversary of our Xatioiial 
Independence, at the imitation <>f your Committee, I am to speak 
to vou for an hour touchin<^ the territory which we inliahit, and 
the action of the mvniicipalities with which it has been connected 
for an hunched years. 

Tlie National Congress, by a joint Resolution passed on the 13th 
of March last, recommended to the people of the several States 
that thev assemble in their counties and towns on the a|)pr<)achin<^ 
anniversary, and that they cause to have delivered on such day an 
historical sketch of said county or town, to the intent that com- 
plete record mav thus l)c obtained of the proj^ress of our institutions 
diuinf( the fust centurv of tlieir existence. 

The ancient town of Dorchester was settletl in the year 1630, 

and comjjrised, substantiallv, the comparatively small territory 

lying between the Ncponset River and the town of Boston and 

the Bav. 'IMie date of its incor|)oration is givi-n as Sept. 7, lO^o, 

3 



lO 



because, on that day, the Court Record has this entry : " It is or- 
dered that Trimountaine shalbe called Boston ; Mattapan, Dor- 
chester ; & the towne vpon Charles Ryvcr, Waterton." This 
vote was the Act of Incorporation. In 1636 the Court granted to 
Dorchester the territory south of the Neponset to the top of the 
Blue Hills, being substantially that territory, which, in 1662, was 
incorporated as the town of Milton. 

In 1637, an extensive grant, subsequently called the "New 
Grant," was made to Dorchester by the Court, comprising all the 
territory, not before granted, lying between Dedham and the Ply- 
mouth or Old Colony line, which included the present territory of 
Canton, Stoughton, Sharon, the larger part of Foxborough, and a 
portion of Wrentham, — extending, very nearly, to the Rhode 
Island line. This large extent of territory, was then, of course, 
but a wilderness, and is repeatedly referred to in the General 
Court Records, as *•' lying beyond the Blue Hills." 

Prior to and after the settlement of Dorchester, the Neponset 
Indians, as the Punkapoag Indians were then usual!}' called, had 
their habitation in Dorchester and its vicinity. There they hunted 
in the forests and took their fish from the rivers and the Bav. 

The inhabitants of Dorchester having early purchased of the 
Indians their title to the lands, were doubtless anxious that the 
tribe should be further removed from their midst. In 1657, at the 
solicitation of Eliot, the town granted to these indians 6000 acres 
at Punkapoag, and about that time they were removed hither. 

The Grant was located by Major Atherton and Lieut. Clap ; 
the lines of the location were delineated on Butcher's Plan, made 
in 1^96, and were also placed upon the county map, some years 
since, through the instrumentality of our townsman, Mr. Ellis 
Ames. 

This indian land was disposed of, from time to time, to the 
English settlers bv the Indians, or by the guardians of the tribe, 
under the authority of the General Court, until about the year 
1829, when the last of it was sold. 

There is much interesting history connected with this Indian 
territory but I have not the time to develop it. 



Ill 17.4. ;i portion of the N\\v Gi";i^nt was set olV to Wrciitliani, 
ami on the 2Zi\ DcccinWcr 172O, the town orvStoii<j;liton was incor- 
porated, and tlic present towns of Stoii<;liton, Canton, Sharon and 
a pait ot' Foxboro', were iiK hided within its limits. Dorchester 
interposed no ohjection to the act ot incorporation, for when the 
tjuestion came before that town to sec whether the\ would aLjree 
to its being set oil" the vote was thirlv-four in faxorand twent\-nine 
aj^ainst it. 

On June 20, 176^, Stouj^htonliam was incorporated as a District, 
and continued such imtil, by a (iencral Act, passetl August 23, 
1775, that, and all other Districts of like character, were invested 
with all the powers and privileges of towns. Bv Special Act, 
Feb. 25, 17S3, Stoughtonham took the name of Sharon. 

Of the internal history of Stoughton, from its incorporation in 
1726, down to the year 1773, I propose to say but little. This 
part of the town, now Canton, constituted tiie First Precinct, or 
Parish, and that part, now Stoughton, after the incorporaticju of 
Stoughtonham as a District, constituted the Second Precinct. 

We may assume that the inhabitants of the dill'erent Precincts 
lived harmoniously together under one town government, 
increasing in population and wealth, — maintaining their 
cluirches and schools, and eilucating themselves and their 
children in these, as well as in the town meeting, the militia and 
the General Court, not (Jiily for the ordinary duties of lite, but 
also (ov those of local government, and the more stern realities of 
the Re\<)lutionarv Crisis. 

Here, within a mile of tliis spot, Ro(;kk SiiiciorAX, whose 
name is appended t(j the Declaration of Independence, which has 
been read in our hearing, and who was one of the Committee that 
reported it to the Congress, passed the da\ s of his bovhooil and 
youth, even if not l)orn here upon our own territorv, which is a 
matter of sonic doubt and uncertaintv. 

For a scries f)f years preceding the Declaration of Independence, 
the action of the British Ministry and Parliament, on the subjects 
of taxation, trade and labor, had been such as to exasperate the 
Colonics an<l doubtless led many thinking minds to reflect upon 



the value to the Colonies of theii" connection with the mother 
country, and the absurdity of remaining in subjection under the 
many grievances imposed upon them. 

That a people like ours, numbering two and a half millions, 
with an extensive territory and ample room for expansion, could 
long remain subject to a foreign government that oppressed and 
held them down is utterly inconceivable. 

Sabine^ scouts the idea that the stamp duty and the tea duty 
were the causes of the American Revolution. " Colonies " 
says he, " become nations as certainly as boys become men, and 
by a similar law." " The Declaration of the fifty-six at Philadel- 
phia, was but the contract signed by the forty-one sad and 
stricken ones in the waters of Provincetown, with the growth of 
one hundred and fiity-six years." "At most, taxation and the 
kindred questions, did but accelerate the dismemberment of the 
British Empire, just as a man whose lungs are half consumed 
hastens the crisis by suicide." 

For years prior to 1776, Samuel Adams, the great leader of 
Revolutionary sentiment, had labored with all his powers to instil 
into the minds of the people republican ideas. He was unre- 
servedly for separation and independence, which he had avowed 
as early as 1769, — and which he wished to have declared imme- 
diately after the Battle of Lexington. He foresaw that sooner or 
later it must come, and to his view^ apparently, the sooner the 
better. 

" Taxation," and "■ Taxation without Representation " were 
the watchwords, to some considerable extent. But it was not 
simply the paltry taxes that were levied upon the Colonies that led 
to independence. These words were but the terms used to signify 
a certain class of legislative acts that were especially aimed at the 
industrial and maritime interests of the Colonies. Sabine tells us, 
" there were no less than twenty-nine laws which restricted and 
bound down Colonial industry " '•'• hardh' one of which, until the 
passage of the Stamp Act imposed a direct tax." " They forbade 
the use of water-falls, the erecting of machinery, of looms and 
spindles, and the working of wood and iron ; they set the king's 



'3 

arrows upon trees that rotted in tlie lorcsts." It was not, as I have 
said, so much " ihrect taxation " as it was lliis restrictive policy 
and le<iishuion, the end and purpose of which was, to keep the 
Colonies as mere tributaries and market places for the trade and 
manufactures of the mother country, and t(j prevent our merchants 
from carr\ intj on trade with anv nation, other than Great Britain. 

The Colonies hesitated lonj^; before proceeding to active re- 
sistance, but having once entered upon it, the jDath of duty became 
plain and thev persevered until success crowned their eilbrts. 

Our local historv as connected with the Revolutionary Struggle 
must be drawn largelv from the records of the town of Stoughton, 
of which Canton was then a part. From these records I shall 
quote freelv, as being the most satisfactory mode of showing the 
progress of events. 

I propose to commence with the early spring of 1773. At this 
time tile Boston Committee of Correspondence, at the head of 
which was Samuel Adams, addressed a letter to the town, and a 
meeting was calleJ to consider it. The record proceeds as fol- 
lows : — 

•'At a Town Meeting, legalh' asseml)k(l in vSloughton on Mon- 
day v" i" dav of March, A. n. i773' 

Mk. Joset'H Billix(;s, Moderatur. 

Voted to iiear the Letter sent from the Town of Boston : and 
after some debates, the follow in;^ Letter was reail : 

" 'I'o l/ic Boston Committee of Correspondence : 

IIONOUKI) CiKNTLKMKN : 

Having had opportunity to hear and consider 
vour Letter to us : for which we are obliged and 'i'hankful to \ou ; 
We, according to (;ur best uiuKi^l. Hiding, think that our rigiits as 
Men, as Christians and British subjects are rightly stated in v<ju 
and in the main instances pro(hiced have been greatly infringed 
upon and N'iolati-d b\ Arl>iti:iiy Will and Power. We esteem 
tliem heavV grievances, and ai)i)ril)ensive that in future timq thev 
mav prove fatal to us and our I'oslerity, as to all that is dear tons, 



H 

Reducing us not only to Poverty but Slavery, We do Humbly Re- 
monstrate against them and concur with you and our Brethren in 
several Towns of the Province, tho' we cannot Joyn with all the 
Towns, nor with you in every circumstance and Particular of your 
Proceeding, Yet we must concur with you and them in Bearing our 
Testimony against them and in uniting in all Constitutional 
methods for regaining these Rights and Privileges that have been 
ravished from us and for retaining those that yet Remain to us 
and accordingly we advise and Instruct our Representative to 
exert himself for these ends. And as that this Province ever had, 
and (ought) to have a right to Petition to the King for the Redress 
of such grievances as they feel and for Preventing such as they 
have just Reason to apprehend and fear, that he move that an 
Humble Petition for these Purposes be Presented to His Majesty, 
Hoping for a Divine Blessing upon all our Constitutional En- 
deavours for the Presei-vation and Enjoyment of all our natural 
and Constitutional Rights and Privileges, and Professing our Loy- 
alty to the King and Praying that he may Long sit upon the throne 
and Rule in Righteousness, and that he may be a nursing father 
to us his Loyal Subjects and all his officers may be peace and liis 
exactions Righteousness, We subscribe ourselves your distressed 
Brethren and oppressed fellow subjects." 

" Voted to accept of this Letter and that it be Recorded upon 
the Town Book, and a copy be sent by the Town Clerk to the 
Committee of Correspondence in Boston." 

It will be seen that at this time the town was extremely cautious 
about committing itself to the views and purposes of the Boston 
Committee; — they agreed fully in the statement of grievances, 
but prefered to continue their petitions to the King. This cau- 
tion is still further exhibited by the action of the Town Meeting 
held on July ii, 1774, when it was 

" Voted to dismiss the 2*^ Article, viz : — To see if the Town 
will vote to pay £2. 17. 9. to the Hon*"'" Thomas Cushing, Esq"- 
of Boston, by y" 15'" day of August next, to pay y" Committee of 
this Province chosen by our General Court to meet y" Committee 
of other governments." 



It is evident, however, that tliere were acti\ e iViciuls of resistance 
in Stoutjhton, and that tiiev were not idle ; nor were they lon*^ 
• delaved in hrin^'iii;,' the town U) their way ot' thinkinj;. 

A Utile more than a niontii tVoin the dati^ of the preceding 
meetinij, to wit: on the i6th of August, as Bancroft informs us, 
" a countv congress," of the towns of SutVolk, (which then em- 
braced what is now Norfolk), met at a tavern in the \ illage of 
Stoughton. This tavern, one of our own historians, Mr. Huntoon, 
informs us, was the '* Doty Tavern," a building now standing a 
little to the south of the base of Blue Hill. At this meeting 
JosKi'ii Wakhicn was present. ''As the aged Samukl Duxijar, 
the rigitl Calvinist Minister," of the first parish, continues Bancroft, 
"breathed forth among them his praver for li^ertv, the \ enerable 
man seemed inspired with " the most divine and prophetical en- 
thusiasm." " We must stand undisguised upon one side or the 
other," said Ebenezer Thayer of Braintree." 

I do not Ihid that the Stoughton men who may have attended 
this meeting at Doty's tavern were chosen thereto by any action 
of the town ; so tar as our own citizens were concerned, it was an 
individual matter. It is said, however, by Bancroft, "that the 
members were unanimous and firm ; but that " thev postponed 
tluir decision till it could l)e promulgated witli greater formality," 
and, so tar as this town was concerned, it may be added, with 
greater authoiity. To this eiul, aiul in contempt of Gage and the 
Act of Parliament, they directed special meetings in e\erv town 
and precinct in the countv, to elect delegates with lull powers, to 
appear at Dedhain on the first Monday in Septeiulier. 

On the 29th (lav of August another town meeting was held. 
The meeting at Doty's tavern hail had its etVect ; the appearance 
there of the aged minister Dunbar, probably had created enthu- 
siasm among the per)ple, — gi\en courage to the timid and hope to 
all. William KdnmI was chosen Moderator, and it was — 

" Voted that a Committee be chosen to rejiresent y" Town in a 
Countv Com ention of v' Towns and Districts of this Countv to 
l)e holden at the house of Richard Woodward at Didhaiu im 
Tucsdav \^ 6th ilav <jf Septenibir next, with lull pDwef of adjourn- 



i6 

ing, acting and doing all such matters and things in said Convention, 
or in a general Convention of the Countys of this Province as to 
them may appear of Public Utility in this day of Public and 
General Distress." " Voted that five persons be chosen for this 
Purpose, and also that John Withington, Theophilus Curtis, John 
Kenney, Jedediah Southworth and Josiah Pratt be this Com- 
mittee." 

" That this Committee be directed to endeavor to obtain a 
County Indemnification for all such persons as may be fined or 
otherwise sutler by a non-compliance with a Late Act of y*" British 
Parliament, intitled " An Act for the better regulation of the Gov- 
ernment of the Massachusetts Bay in North America." 

"That this Committee be also a Committee of Correspondence 
to advise and correspond with the other Towns in this Province 
about all such matters and things as may appear to them likely in 
any way to affect the Public. 

On the 6th of September 1774, the County Convention assembled 
at the house af Mr. Woodward in Dedham ; every town and dis- 
trict in the County was represented. Their business was referred 
to a committee, of which Joseph Warren was chairman. 

The Convention was adjourned to meet on Friday the 9th, Sept. 
at the house of Daniel Vose, in Milton, when Warren presented 
the Resolutions, with an elaborate report introductory thereto, 
from which I extract two lines, in these words : " On the fortitude, 
on the wisdom, and on the exertions of this important day, is sus- 
pended the fate of this new world and of unborn millions." 

The Address and Resolutions, since known as the " Sutlblk 
Resolves" were unanimously adopted. 

And it was " Voted, That Joseph Warren, Esq. and Doct. Ben- 
jamin Church of Boston, Deacon Joseph Palmer and Col. Eben- 
ezer Thayer of Braintree, Capt. Lemuel Robinson, William Hol- 
den, Esq. and Capt. John Homans of Dorchester, Capt. William 
Heath of Roxbury, Col. William Taylor and Doct. Samuel 
Gardner of Milton, Isaac Gardner, Esq., Capt. Benjamin White, 
and Capt. Thomas Aspinwall of Brookline, Nathaniel Sumner, 
Esq., and Mr. Richard Woodward of Dedham, be a Committee 
to wait on his Excellency Gov' Gage and inform him that this 



'7 

Coiiiit\- is alarmed at the fortiHcatioiis making on Boston Xcck, 
and to icinonslratc aj^ainst tlic same." 

Tlie Committee on the next das prepaieti an atldress "To His 
Excellency, Thomas Gage, Esij., CapL:un-General and Com- 
mander-in-Chiet"of His Majesty's Province of Massachusetts Bay," 
and presented the same to Gage, on Monday the 12th. 

To this address the Governor replied on the same day ; after 
which, the Committee met together and adopted an answer to 
the Governor, ot' which a copy was delivered to Secretary Fluckcr 
bv Joseph Warren, with a desire that he would present it to the 
Governor, and reijuest His Excellency to appoint a time for re- 
ceiving it in form, which, as the Committee were informed, the 
Governor declined. 

These Resolves attracted great attention. They were sent by 
special messengers to our delegates in the Continental Congress, 
delighting Sam. Adams and John Adams, and creating great ex- 
citement in the Continental Congress, where thev were read. Jo- 
seph (jallowav, a loyalist, at one time a member of the Conti- 
nental Congress, in his "• Historical and Political Reflections of 
the Riseand Progress of the American Revolution, London, i 7S0," 
said, these " Sullblk Resolves" "contained a complete declar- 
ation of war against Great Britain." 

f)n the 26th day of September, at a Town meeting held in the 
first precinct, (in the meeting house which stood within twenty 
rods df this spot,) the town, together with ihc district of Slough- 
tonham, made choice of Mr. Thomas Crane tor their repiesentati\ e, 
and \()ted him the following instructions: 

*• .^11!. — .\s \\ c- iia\e now cliosi 11 \nii to Represent us in tlie 
(ireat and (ieneral Coiut to be holden at Salem on Wednesday y" 
!^"' (lav of October next ensuing. We do hereby Instruct you that 
in all \our doings as a memlier ol' the House of Representatives 
you adhere tuinl\ t'» the charter of this Pro\ ince, granted by their 
Majesties King William and (^ueen Mary, and that you ilo no act 
that can possibly be construed into an acknowledgment of the va- 
lidity of v" act of y"" British Parliament for altering y*' Govern- 
miTit f)f Massacluisetts-Bav. Nb>re especially that you ac- 
6 



knowledge y" Honourable Board of Counsellors elected by y'' Gen- 
eral Court at their session in May last as y" only rightful and Con- 
stitutional Counsel of this Province ; and as we have reason to 
believe that a Conscientious Discharge of your duty will Produce 
your Disolution as an House of Representatives, We do hereby 
Impower and Instruct you to join with y*" members who may be 
sent from this and y" other Towns in y'^ Province, and to meet with 
them at a time to be agreed upon in a General Provincial Con- 
gress to act upon such matters as may come before you, in such a 
manner as may appear to you most conducive to y*" true Interest 
of this Town and Province and most likely to Preserve the Lib- 
erties of all North America." 

On the same day the town made choice of Mr. John Withington 
to meet the Committee from y*" several Towns in this Province, at 
Concord, the second Tuesday in October next, in a General Pro- 
vincial Congress, to act upon such mattei's as may come before you 
in such a manner as may appear to you most conducive to the true 
Interest of this Town and Province and most likely to Preserve the 
Liberties of all North America. 

1 775, January 9. The town made choice of Mr. Thomas Crane, to 
Represent them in a Provincial Congress to be held at Cambridge, 
the first day of February next. 

At the same meeting it was put to vote whether the town would 
send their Province money to Henry Gardner, Esq., and it passed 
in the negative. 

Gardner had been elected Province Treasurer by the Provincial 
Congress. 

This money consisted of tax money, collected by the constables 
for the province, and the proposition really was to divert it from the 
use of his majesty's officers and treasury and use it for the purpose 
of resisting the encroachments of the Crown. 

Hovv^ this vote could have been carried in the negative after 
what had alreadv taken place it is a little difficult to conceive ; 
however that may have been, at an adjourned meeting held a week 
later, the vote was reconsidered and it was '■'• voted to send all our 
Province money to Henry Gardner, Esq., of Stow, as is recom- 



'9 

iih-ikIl-iI l)y v rioxiiicial C<>nu;rcss." It was fiirtlicr " Vo/ci/ to 
iiulciniiir\ the constaMcs tor not carrvinj^ tin.- l'ru\ incc moncv tu 
Harrison Grav, Esij." wlio was the treasurer ot" the crown. 

On the same (.lav, llie Continental Conj^ress anil their Resolves 
were tiiUv approved, ami a Committee of Inspection chosen, con- 
sistinj^ ot* nineteen persons, \ iz : — 

John \\'ithin<^ton, John Kcnnev, Adam Blackman, James En- 
ilicott. Jeremiah Ini^raham, .Vhner Crane, Peter Talbot, Jonathan 
Capen, Robert Capen, Jedediah Southworth, Samuel Shepard, 
Da\ id \'inton, Theophikis Curtis, Josiah I'ratt, Eleazer R<jbins, 
Samuel Tucker, Benj" Gill, Robert Swan, and Peter Gav. 

This Committee was instructed to use its inteicst that the 
Resolves and the Association ot' the Continental Con^jress be 
closelv adhered to. 

Matters now loijked warlike, tor on !March 6th, 177^, the Town 
'' \'oted to raise one quarter ot' the Militia as ^linute men agree- 
al)Ie to the advice of y' Provincial Congress," " and to give them 
one shilling for half a day's training, for tw(^ half davs every 
week." The tield oilicers willi the .Selectmen were directed to 
raise the men. 

March 20. The Town " X'oted that Mr. Thomas Crane attend 
the Countv Congress at Mr. Daniel \'ose's in Milton, v' j6th da\- 
of April next." 

It will be remembered that it \\ as at the house of Mr. Vose that 
the Sull'fjlk Resolves were ad<t|)ted on September 9th, 1774. 

Whether the meeting at Mr. \'ose's was held nn the 26th I am 
not informed, verv likelv not, tor, before that time, important 
events were to happen. The lyth of April was fast approaching. 
Gage had determineil to cripple tlie country towns bv destroving 
the colony stores at Concord, and secretly prepared an Expedition 
for that purpose, — a force of eight hundred grenadiers and in- 
fantry crossed in boats from the fo<it of the common to East Cam- 
bridge. The activity of Warren and Paul Revere discovered the 
purpose (jf ( jage, and arrangements were matle bv which Concord 
and the Middlesex ttnvns should be notified. Paul Revere's fa- 
mous midnight ride on the iSth of April, aroused the people of 



20 

Medford, Lexington and Concord, and it almost seems as if the 
clatter of his horse's hoofs were heard here in Stoughton, for on 
the nineteenth nine companies of militia marched from Stoughton 
and the district of Stoughtonham, to the assistance of their breth- 
ren, viz : — 

Capt. James Endicott's Company, 83 men. 

" William Briggs' "• 41 " 

" Asahel Smith's " 77 " 

" Peter Talbot's " 85 " 

" Josiah Pratt's " 33 " 

" Israel Smith's " 23 " 

" Samuel Payson's " 33 " 

" Edward Bridge Savels' Co., 64 " 

" Ebenezer Tisdale's " 31 " 

Making in all four hundred and seventy men who marched from 
Stoughton and vStoughtonham on that eventful day. 

On the 27th of April, Capt. William Bent's company, fifty-nine 
men, marched to Roxbury for three months and twelve days' ser- 
vice. 

In June, Capt. Frederick Pope enlisted a company of fifty-eight 
men, for one month and nine days' service. 

Capt. Endicott, on the 4th of March, 1776, marched with his 
company of forty-one men " to the assistance of the Continental 
Troops, when they fortified on the heights of Dorchester." A 
little later in the same year, with eighty-two men, he marched to 
Ticonderoga, and on the 2Sth March, 1778, to Roxbury, "agree- 
able to an Order of Council," with seventy-eight men. 

On the 22d March, 1776, Capt. Theophilus Lyon's Company, 
forty-seven men, marched to Braintree, — and on March i, 1778, 
Capt. Lyon, with forty-nine men, marched to Castle Island. 

Capt. Rob't Swan, with sixty-two men, marched to Bristol, R. I., 
and with thirty men, to the Castle, on Dec. 19, 1777. 

Capt. Abner Crane, with fiftj-eight men, in 1779, marched 
with his company " in a campaign to Claverack on the Hudson 
River." 



The promptness with which the militia met evciv call was 
most creditable. Nor was the town less prompt in turnishinjj^ its 
ipiota to the continental arm\. For this, the town furnished 
nearly or c|uitc two Innuhed men, tor terms ot" service varying 
tVom six months to three vears, m during the war. Some of our 
men having served for the t'ull period of four years. 

May 2^, Thomas Crane was chosen to represent the town in 
the Provincial Congress, for the six months following, and Peter 
Talbot, Christopher Wadsworlli, and Benj" (iill were appointed 
a Committee of Correspondence. 

On July loth, Stoughton aiul Stoughtoidiam, in town mectijig 
assembled, elected Thomas Crane to represent them in a great 
and General Court, to be heUi in Watertown, on Wednesday, the 
19th day of July, 1775. 

Very little action of importance in town meeting, was trans- 
acted during the remainder of the year i77v 

We come now to the year 1776. On March iSth, Messrs. 
Elijah Dunbar, Peter Talbot, Josiah Pratt, Theophilus Curtis, 
John Kenney, Christopher Wadsworth, and David Lvon were 
chosen a Committee of Correspondence and Inspection. 

All of these men, except tlie chairman, had marchetl to the 
lines, to the music of fife and drum, on the lytii of April, — two of 
them, Talbot and Pratt, as captains, each in command of a com- 
pany. 

On May 22d, another town meeting was helil, at which, 
we may well suppose, tl)e men who had mustered and 
marched so promptly on the U)l\\ ol April, were present. An ar- 
ticle in the warrant had infornied them tiiat the question of Inde- 
pendence was to be acted on by the meeting. The first business 
was the choice of Representatives, and IJenjamin (Jill and Tliomas 
Crane were chosen. 

V<ju will bear in mind, my friinds, that the date of this meet- 
ing was May 22, six weeks prior U) tlie adoption of tlie Declar- 
ation of Independence, 1)V the continental congress, and while the 
(piestion there was treml)ling in the balance, our fathers passed 
this Resolve : 
6 



" Voted, That if the Honourable Continental Congress should, 
for the safety of this Colony, Declare us Independent of the 
Kingdom of Gi'eat Britain, We, the Inhabitants, will Solemnly 
engage with our lives and fortunes to support them in the Meas- 
ure." 

All honor to these men of seventeen hundred and seventy-six. 

On the fourth of July, 1776, one hundred years ago to-day, the 
Declaration of Independence was adopted. I give the action of 
the Massachusetts Council, showing what measures were taken 
to give publicity to the document : 

" In Council, July i^t/i, 1776- 
"Ordered, That the Declaration of Independence be printed, 
and a copy sent to the Minister of each Parish, of every Denom- 
ination within this State, and that they severally be required to 
read the same to their respective Congregations as soon as divine 
service is ended, in the afternoon, on the first Lord's Day after 
they shall have received it : And after such Publication thereof to 
deliver the said Declaration to the Clerks of their several Towns 
or Districts, who are hereby required to record the same in their 
respective Town or District Books, there to remain as a perpetual 
Memorial thereof. 

In the Name and bv Order of y*" Council. 

R. Derby, Jr., President. 
A true Copy, Attest, John Ayerv, Dep. Sec'y." 

And our Town Clerk adds, ' faithfully recorded.' 

Attest, George Crossman, 

Toivn Clerk" 

On July iSth, the town voted to raise, by taxation, a sum of 
money to give to each man to the number of thirty-eight men, 
that shall enlist into the service for the Northern Department, 
against Qiiebec, the sum of £6. 6s. 8d. as an addition to their 
bounty. 

1777, May 2ist. John Kenney was chosen as " agent of the 
town, to procure evidence against the ' toreys,' and a committee, 
consisting of John Kenney, Christopher Wadsworth, David Vin- 



ton, Peter T;ill>ot, Capt. I'latt, Capt. Endicott, and Hcnjaniin 
Tucker, was chosen to see to tlie enforcement of the '* Reg- 
iihitini; Act." 

Mav jSth. A coniniittee chosen to examine the accounts of the 
town's committee of correspondence, etc., made report, wiiich was 
accepted. 

Some of the items of these accounts I give \'ou, as showing the 
character of the work performed 1>\ the committee. 

The account of Elijah Dunhar, Esij. containeil, among others, 
these items : 
-1776. 

March iSth. To i dav writing circidar letters, . .£0 4. :;. 
" 20th. To ^ dav at Johnson's about getting 

wood for the armv, 2. o. 

Mav 13th. To .^ day taking cognizance of those v' 

have been imfriendlv to v" countrv, i . loi. 

June 3rd, To i dav at Capt. Smith's to take some 

order with tliose wiio refused to sign 

the Test Act 2.0. 

Julv 22 and 26, To 2.^ davs at Johnson's about procu- 
ring hard mone\ , etc .|. o. 

'777- 
Feb. 12 and 13, To 2 davs on v' business of Regulating 

prices, 8. o." 

The t'ull amount allowetl Mr. Dunbar was, £2. 17. 6. 

"Capt. Peter Talbot attended all the above said service, except 

the writing of notifications about regulating prices, and over and 

al)ove v' aforesaid account he attend' y" Countv Convention at 

Dedham and singlev he went about h day to get the Test Act 

signed." Capt. Talbot's allowance was £2. .\. \. 

Capt. Christopher W'adsworth, attended substantially the same 

ser\icc that Capt. Talbot did. — and was allowed, .£2. 4. 4. 

Capt. Theophilus Curtis was allowe<l £1. 3. lo.A. 

Capt. David Lvon, £2. S. o. 

Capt. Josiali I'ratt, £1. 10. loA. 

And John Kiiuiev's is allowed £'3. 3. S. 



34 

the same as Capt. P. Talbot, and over and above, for one journey 
to Gen' Washington, sent by the Selectmen." 

On May 26th, the selectmen exhibited to the town meeting a 
list of those persons that, in their opinion, have endeavored since 
y*" 19th of April, 1775, to counteract y'' United Struggles of this 
and the United States, for the presei'vation of their Liberties and 
Privileges, as follows: — 

William Curtis, Edward Taylor, 

Noah Kingsbury, Henry Crane, 

Samuel Capen, Edward Shall. 

The report is signed by Benj. Gill, Adam Blackman, Jonathan 
Capen, and James Endicott, Selectmen. 

Some, if not all of these men must have joined the loyalist 
party but a short time prior to the presentation of this report, for 
both Edward Taylor and Edward Shail marched with Endicott's 
company on the 19th of April, ancl on two later occasions, in 
1776, Shail's name appears upon the muster rolls. 

1778. March i6th. The town voted to accept the Report of 
the committee chosen to make an average or Equal Balance of 
Duty, by fixing the pay for the ditlerent kinds of service, as fol- 
lows : — 

The eight month's at the Lines in 1775, 

The two months service at y'^ Lines in 177^, 

The twelve months service in 1776, excepthig the ) 
men that went with Capt. Pope, . . . ^ 

The 13 months service with Capt. Pope in 1776, 
The 4 months service at Ticonderoga, in 1776, \ 
each man giving credit for bounty received, . ^ 

The 4 mos. service at the Lines in 1776, 
The 2 " " at York in 1776, 
The 3 " " " " " 1776 & 1777, 
The 3 " " '' y'= Lines in 1777, 

The 13 days service at Castle Island in 1777, 
The 3 weeks service at Bristol, R. I. in 1777, 
The 2 months " " North Kingston, R. Lin 1775, 5. 



^3- 


0. 


0. 


I. 


4- 


0. 


20. 


0. 


0. 


15- 


0. 


0. 


8. 


0. 


0. 


4- 


0. 


0. 


6. 


0. 


0. 


7- 


0. 


0. 


3. 


10. 


0. 


0. 


15- 


0. 


3. 


0. 


0. 


, =;. 


0. 


0. 



The 


4 


The 


I 


Tlic 


5 


Tn 




(( 


3 


" 


3 



o. 


o. 


o. 


o. 


o. 


o. 


lO. 


o. 


o. 


o. 


o. 


o. 



25 

The -^ months ser\ ice at Stillwater and otlier | 
places, m i 777, ) 

" " Rhode Island in 1777, • ^• 

" " v' Secret Expedition in 1777, 3. 
" to ( Jen. Hup^oyne in i 777 ""^^ ' /T"^' 7* 
''' at Dorchester iK: Boston in 177S, ::. 
'' in RhixK- Inland in 177'^. 6. 

at Xoddle's Island c\: Hnll in i 776, 2. 
In this year the town l>ei;an to be excited abont a new form ot 
government, for the State of Massachusetts, proposed In the Gen- 
eral Court. 

March 23d it was "■ I'otcii 'J'hat Messrs. Elijah Dunbar. Peter 
Talbot, W'ni. \\'heeler, Jed'' Southworth, John Kenny, Adam 
Hlackman, Ile/ekiah Gay, Xath' Fisher, Samuel Shepard, Geo. 
Grossman, Isaiah Johnson, James Ilawkes Lewis, and Samuel 
Talbot, be a committee to take under consideration the new form 
of governinent, and make report to the town." 

April 7th, " ]'otcd That EliJMh Dunbar, Esq. and Capt. Jede- 
diah Southworth, be a committee to meet in a countv convention 
at Dedham, on the 2Sth day of this inst, to take into conside- 
ration V' new t'orm of g(nernment." 

.\nd on Mav iSth, The committee of 13, app' 23' March, 
made an elaborate reptjrt against the proposed new tbrm of gov- 
ermiient. And it was voted unanimouslv, to(Iisappro\e the same. 
235 votes being given. 

May 28th, Thomas Crane, ICscj. was clecteil Re[)resentati\ e, 
and the town voted him the following instryctions : 

''To TiKtMAs- Ckank, ICs(^. 

Sii!. — The town of .Stoughton ha\ing made choice of 
\ou to Represent them in a (iieat and General Court, v" ensuing 
vear, it nuist be agreeable to you, (if you consider yourself the 
servant of y" town and accoiu)tal>le to them as you really are,) t») 
know y' minds of your constituents, respecting y" important Duties 
of your Station, who have chosen you to act ft)r their safetv iV: 
happiness, as connected with y' whole tS: not Hir your own pri\ ate 
emolument or separate intciist, iV therefore, x" Town ihiid; lit to 



26 

give you the following instructions : You are by no means to vote 
for any person belonging to y'' following orders of men to have a 
seat in y" legislative Council, but use your Influence that they may 
be excluded, (viz,) the members of the Continental Congress and 
officers holding Commissions under them, — Judges of y*" Su- 
perior Courts of Common Pleas, Judges of the maritime Courts, 
— Judges of Probate, Registers of Probate, Sherifts, — Members of 
the Board of War, & all Executive Officers who have a fixed an- 
nual stipend. As soon as y" Two Branches of the Legislature are 
settled and properly organized, your primary object must be the 
Prosecution of the War with spirit and vigour, with a view to 
bring it to a speedy & honourable issue. 

" For this purpose you are directed to exert yourself to have y" 
Continental Army completed in the most expeditious manner, & 
see that negligent Towns and Delinquent officers are punished ac- 
cording to law in that case made and provided. And also, you 
are to vote for such large and speedy supplies as may appear to 
you necessary to enable y*^ Comnlander-in-Chief of our armies to 
answer the expectations of his Country, that y"' war, if Possible, 
may be ended the ensuing campaign with Immortal Honour to 
himself & Permanent Glory and Security to y'' United States of 
America." 

Lengthy additions wxre made to these instructions by the town, 
which may be found duly recorded in the Records. They were 
also published in the Continental Journal of June iS, 1778. 

1779, June I. " Voted^ To give our Representative y" same 
Instructions our Representative had y*" last year, Together with y*" 
following Instructions, ( viz : ) 

" To Elijah Dunbar, Esq. — Sir : Whereas y' Town of Stough- 
ton thought proper to instruct their Representative y"' last year in 
matters that concerned the public weal, — and you being the Pres- 
ent Legislative Servant of this Town, & as such you have solicited 
instruction from your constituents for the guidance of your Gen- 
eral conduct in that Capacity y'' ensuing year, Therefore, y"' Town 
think fit to Direct & Instruct you strictly to adhere, and in the 
most caucious manner observe & obev "... " v" instructions 



given to tlicir Representative \" last year," ..." excepting 
these two Paiai^rapiis in saitl Instructions which relate to the form 
of Governnient that was proposed to the consideration of the in- 
habitants of this State tor approbation or Disapprol)atioi), whicii 
paragraphs are now redumlant, as we find by a resolve of the 
General Court, pass' Feb' 2y"' 1779, that s'' form hath l)een Dis- 
approved bv a majority of \' Inhaiiitants of said State, — .\nd also, 
\()U are further directed anil impowered by your constituents to 
\ (^te for v' calling a State Convention for the sole purpose of form- 
ing a New Constitution or Form of Government, pro\ ided it shall 
appear, (Mi Examination, that a majority of y' people present iV: 
\oting at their respective Town meetings choose, at this time, to 
ha\e a Xew Constitution or Form of Government made, and if 
such a Convention should be voted to be called, vou are hereby 
instructed to exert your utmost endeavors that some motle mav be 
adopted, wherein' the inhabitants of this State, (as nearlv as pos- 
sible.) may be equally Represented in said Convention ; and fur- 
thermore, vou are enjoined ever to be watchful of the Rights & 
Liberties of the (people,) and wiienever an\ Infringement shall 
be attempted on them : or you are apprehensi\ e that their safety 
or Interest are in Danger, You arc, like a faitht'ul Sentinel, to 
give the alarm to your Constituents." 

August 9. " The Town made choice of y'' Rev'- Mr. Jedediah 
Adams for our Delegate to sit in State Convention for y" sole 
purpf)se of forming a New Constitution." 

Paper money had now become s<j much reduced in value, that 
the tf>wn adopted a report of a committee, regulating the prices 
of certain articles. I gi\c a sample of these prices, as established 
August 9, 1779. 

*' Cyder t'6. per bbl. and for making, 1S5. per bbl. J^rtators 
and Turnips iS.v. per bushel, i\; other sauce in proportion. For 
a common dinner 1 5.V. other meals in proportion. For lodging 
3.T. per night. West India Tody at 1 2.v. per Howl. Xew ICng- 
land do. 95. per bowl. Iloise keeping one Xight on grass iS.v. on 
Ila\ I vs". Beef 5^-. |)erlli., .Mutton, Veal iS: Lamb .|.v. jut lb., 
I'intt(r. lis- per lb., Xi\v ,MilI< C'heese 6.v. per lb., Xew Milk zs. 



28 

per Qiiart, English Hay, 36^. per Hundred, For Shoeing a 
Horse £4. — a yoke of Oxen £8." 

A committee of twenty-one persons was selected to inform the 
Committee of Correspondence of any breaches of the Resolution 
respecting these prices. 

17S0. On May 24, Thomas Crane, Esq. was chosen Representa- 
tive, and on Sept. 4th, the first Election for Governor took place 
agreeably to a Resolve of the State Convention, passed on the i6th 
day of June, and John Hancock had fifty-three votes, the whole 
number thrown. 

October loth. Elijah Dunbar, Esq. and Thomas Crane \vere 
chosen Representatives ; Thomas Crane was excused from serv- 
ing, and Capt. James Endicott was elected. Capt. Endicott was 
excused from serving, and Mr. Christopher Wadsworth was cho- 
sen. 

In 17S1, April 2d, the vote for Governor w^as as follows : — 
John Hancock had 47 votes. 
James Bowdoin had 2 " 

17S3, May 1 6th. John Kenney was chosen representative, and 
sundry instructions were voted him, showing a violent state of 
public feeling in regard to the tories ; and showing, also, the first 
recorded evidence that the war was ended. I make these extracts : 

" 2d. Whereas we have reason to believe that this year every 
efl:brt will be made for the return to their possessions of that aban- 
doned set of men, very justly described by the Laws of this Com- 
monwealth, Conspirators and absentees, who voluntarily at the 
beginning of the war, not only deserted their country's cause, but 
have aided and assisted the Enemy with their counsels and money, 
and many of them with their personal services, most inhumanlv 
murdering innocent women and children, therefore, we instruct 
you to attend the General Court constantlv, and use your utmost 
exertions that they, and every one of them, be forever excluded 
and Barred from having Lot or portion amongst us. And that the 
Estates they formerly possessed and have justly forfeited, may 
be immediately sold, and the money arising therefrom be applied 
to the Discharge of our public debt; and that such of them as 



29 

have miwarieillv crept in ainmij]^ lis, inav be iinincdiatclv and for- 
ever removed out of this Coniinonwealth." 

"4th. And, whereas tlie war is at an End, we earnestlv rec- 
oniniend it to vou to use vour interest in the General Court that 
our arniv, hotli otlicers ami privates, may be paid otl'assoonas 
possible, eitiier in money or securities, accordiiif^ to the public 
engagements made to them ^vhen they entered llie ser\ ice. But 
on no account arc you ever to give your voice or vote for the es- 
tablishing of halt-pay otticers amongst us, or anv thing that mav 
be called an e(jui\ alent, Init to use vour utmost exertions against 
it." 

On the thirtieth of November, 1782, the preliminarv treaty of 
peace was signed by the Commissioners of the two countries, by 
which the Independence of the United States was acknowledged. 

When tlie news was promulgated here, we mav well believe 
there was great rejoicing. In 17S3, a meeting was held in the old 
meeting house, at whicli the venerable Dunbar was present. His 
pravers at the Doty Tavern had been answered, and he was 
tl(jul>tless ready himself to depart hence, to be here no more for- 
ever. At that great meeting of gladness and jov, it is humiliating 
to reflect that religious intolerance should have prevented the at- 
tenilance of the veteran Gkidi.kv, whose services in the French 
War had been so valuable to his king, and in the earl\- davs of 
the revolution, so important to the Republic. 1 may add, how- 
ever, that his neglected remains will soon be removed bv careful 
hands to yonder cemetery, where a suitable spot has been voted 
by the town, and that a monument will be erected, witii becoming 
ceremonies, to perpetuate his memory. 

17S7. May 7. Elijah Dunbar and Col. Frederick I'ope were 
elected repi esintalives. 

The bitter feeling which existed in 17S3, as shown bv the in- 
structions to representative Kenny, before (jufjted, appears to have 
subsided. I make these extr.icls from the vote of instructions to 
Messrs. Dunbar and Pope: 

•* These discriminating and dis'|ualif\ ing acts, which serve to 
8 



30 

irritate the minds of the people, instead of promoting the desirable 
blessing of peace, your constituents wish to have repealed, to- 
gether with all other laws that appear repugnant to the common 
good." 

" You will inquire whether the liberty of the Press, so essential to 
the security of freedom in a State, has been in any manner violated 
or restrained in this Commonwealth, -and if so, you will endeavour 
to have the violators impeached and future restraints prevented." 

" That if the Tender Act should be continued, which, on ac- 
count of the present scarcity of Cash, may be for the best, ior a 
limited time, you will endeavor to have amended, so that property 
may be appraised at the same rate for the payment of a Creditor, 
as it would have been at the time when the particular Debt was 
contracted." 

" In order that all the Inhabitants in the Commonwealth may 
have full employ, be beneficial to themselves and the Public : You 
will endeavor by every feasible and rational method, to encourage 
& promote Ship Buildings Whale and Cod Fishery^ Agri- 
culture, and every necessary & useful manufacture that may be 
profitably carried on in the States: — & that large Duties be laid 
on all imported articles that might be thus manufactured in them ; 
and also upon all articles of Luxury & Extravagance, and that 
moderate Duties be laid upon many articles of convenience, but 
none upon the real necessaries of life." 

From 17S3, for several years, the attention of the town was 
given to the division of Suffolk County, which the town heartily 
favored. Success finally crowned this enterprise, and Norfolk 
County was incorporated March 20, 1793. 

The obstructions to the passage of fish up the Neponset, by the 
dams at Milton, were fruitful sources of contention and litigation, 
so that, at one time, serious trouble was imminent, — a party from 
Stoughton went to Milton to remove obstructions, when they 
were set upon by the emplovees of the mill owners and driven 
away. A special town meeting was called to take action thereon 
^— a committee of fourteen members was chosen to join with the 
fish committee in getting the way through Leeds' dam, and anotJier 



3' 

(.•ominittic of twciits iiK-mbcrs, as the \<»tc expresses it, was 
chosen " to stir up the People to *i;o down ami assist in opening 
Leeiis' tiain, for tlie lislj to :^o up ; " hut coiiler counsels prevailed, 
atui tile parties contested their rii^hts in the courts. 

In 1794 a novel experiment was tried tor supplying the town 
treasurv, hv votinj^ that the person who shoulil he chosen repre- 
sentative, should ser\ e for 6s. ^d. per day, and if the General 
Court should Hx the pay at a higher rate " v" o\ erj)his is to be re- 
turned to the town." Col. Frederick Pope was chosen and ac- 
cepted the condition prescrilied. It is probable that the experiment 
proved not to be remunerati\ e, for at the next election tiic subject 
was dismissed. 

INCORPORATION OF CANTON. 

In 1795, the Inhabitants of the First Parish met in legal meeting, 
held at the meeting house, on the ninth day of March, anil voted 
on the I ;^th article, (wliich was to see if the Parish will petition 
the General Court to be set otl" as a separate town,) that Elijah 
Dunbar, Escj., Col. Nathan Crane, Mr. Joseph Bemis, Col. Benj. 
(Jill, and Capt. Elijah Crane, be a committee to j)repare a Petition 
for the Inhabitants to sign for a Division of the t(nvn. And fur- 
ther voted that Col. Gill, Capt. I'^lijah Crane, and Col. Nathan 
Crane be a committee to present the petition to the General 
Court. 

A petition was accordingl\- prepared, signed by one hundred 
and torty-three inhabitants of the Parish, and is here given: — 

Pi: ri ri on. 

'Ju the Jlnnoitrablc Senate and J louse of Representatives of the 
Comth of Mass"'' in General Court assembled : 

The Petition of the Sul>scribers, Iidiabitants of the lirst 
Palish in the Town of Stoughton, in the Count\ of Norfolk in s' 
Com" huniblv showetii that tlie local situation of said Town of 



32 



Stoughton is very singular, being near Eleven Miles in length & 
about four Miles in breadth, as may appear by a Plan thereof, and 
also that there is a large body of land laying upon and contiguous 
to the line between the North and South Parishes, which is and 
always will be incapable of any valuable improvement, which 
throws the bulk of the Inhabitants of said Parishes at a great dis- 
tance from each other, which peculiar circumstance makes it 
always inconvenient & sometimes impracticable for the Inhab- 
itants of either of said Parishes to attend Town Meeting as they 
have been usually held for some years last past, by reason of the 
great distance of way & sometimes impassable roads. — 

Therefore, your Petitioners humbly pray that the landswithin 
the said first Parish & the Inhabitants thereof, (except those per- 
sons and their property that wish to remain with the Town of 
Stoughton,) may be incorporated into a Distinct and separate 
Town. And vour Petitioners, as in dut}- bound, shall ever 
pray. 

Stoughton, Apr^ ly'"' 1795. 



Elijah Dunbar. 
Benj'n Gill. 
Nathan Crane. 
Elijah Crane. 
Joseph Bemis. 
Sam'l Capen, 3d. 
William McKendry, 
Ezekiel Fisher. 
David Hartwell. 
Jno. Kenney, Jr. 
Charles Fenno. 
Sam'l Wales. 
Nath'l Hill. 
Moses Baker. 
Redmon Spurr. 
Thomas French. 



Michael Shaller. 
SUm'l Strobridge. 
Isaac Billing. 
Seth Strobridge. 
Archibill McKendry. 
. Samuel Gooch. 
Lem. Tant. 
John Went worth. 
Rodolpis Kinsley. 
Wm. Crane. 
James Reed. 
Lemuel Davenport. 
Fisher Kingsbury. 
Ebenezer Holmes. 
Edward Downs. 
Samuel Canterbury. 



Thomas Allen. 
Jarath'l Crane. 
Silas Crane. 
Elijah Crane, 2d. 
James Endicott. 
George Jordan. 
Luther May. 
Henry Bailey. 
George Grossman. 
Joseph Chandler. 
Richard Wild. 
Benjamin Lyon. 
Sam'l Morse. 
John Capcn, 3d. 
Benj'n Wentworth. 
Enoch Dickerman. 



33 

E/t'kiel JoliiisoiK Ilcnrv Crane. Elijah fJill. 

Jcjliii Puller. Xalh'l Shcparcl. Lcin'l Fisher. 

Abel I'litVcr. Ilcnrv Morse, Jr. Abel WcntwDrth. 

Ephraini Hunt. John Tant. Abel Fisher. 

Daviil Talbot. JohnTant, Jr. Comfort llovton. 

Xathaniel Pitt. William Wheeler. Paul Wentworth. 

William Bent. Samuel Wheeler. Elijah Fenno. 

Xath'l Fisher. Sam'l Hilling. Jacob Billings. 

John Kennev. Joseph Billings. Stephen Billings. 

James H. Lewis. John Tucker. Nath'l Billing. 

I^aban Lewis. Xath'l Tilden. Nathan Billing. 

Benj'n B.ussev. Peter Billing. 

IClijah Puller. Ephraim Jones. Judah Ilenrv. 

Lem'l Whiting, Seth Wentworth. Oliver Shepard. 

Sam'l Tucker. Phili[) Wiiiting. Israel Bailey. 

Simeon Tucker. Jona. Billing, 

.•^amuel Tucker, Jr. Adam Blackman. Dudlev Bailey. 

Benjamin Tucker. Oli'r Wentworth. George Stone. 

Benjamin Silvester. Josiah Tilden. Daniel Billing. 

John Madilen. Nath'l W^entworth Enoch Leonard. 

James Tucker. Jonathan Farrington. Wm. Shepard. 

Elisha Haws. John liilling. Elijah Endicott. 

Elijah Wentworth. Xath'l NVhiting. I^emuel Smith, 2d. 

Joseph Henrv. Daniel Tucker. Jose]ih Stearns. 

Stephen Blake. Adam lilackman, Jr. Thomas Shepard. 

James Smith. Sam'l Blackman. I<.ichard Gridley. 

John Morse. Xathaniel Kenney. Uriah I^eonard. 

ICphraim Smith. Jno. I31ackman. Calvin Cr.me. 

Amos Upham. Benj'n Lewis. I'eter Thayer, Jun. 

John Dunlop. (Jeorge Blackman. .Silas Kinslev. 

John Gill. John Withinglon. 01i\er I)t)wns. 

.\runali Wtntwfjrth Sam. Morse, Jun'r. 

Joses Hill. Henrv Morse-. 



34 

At the date of this petition there wei-ebutone hundred and forty 
voters in the Parish, so that there were on this paper three names 
in excess of the entire number of legal voters. 

The petition was presented to the General Court, June ii, and 
an order of notice, thereon issued, returnable at a later day. 
Stoughton, in the mean time, chose a committee, consisting of 
Samuel Talbot, Samuel Shepard, Joseph Richards, and James 
Pope, to oppose the petition. 

January 20, 1796, a remonstrance, signed by Lemuel Drake and 
one hundred and sixty-nine others, 'was presented in the House, 
being an excess of fifteen names over and above the whole num- 
ber of legal voters in the Second Parish, — in tact, a few names 
from the First Parish were upon this Remonstrance. 

On June 10, 1776, the committees of the parish, and of the 
town, agi^eed that the matter should be refered to the Hon. Seth 
Bullard of the Senate, and Judge Bullock of Rehoboth and Mr. Jo- 
seph Hewins of Sharon, of the House. This committee was in- 
structed to visit the town, — hear the parties and report thereon ; 
they spent four days here in this service, and on Sept. 3, 1796, 
made their report in favor of an Act of Incorporation, and on the 
23d of February, in the year 1797, the town of Canton was duly 
incorporated. 

On February 24, Thomas Crane, Esq. issued his warrant to 
Laban Lewis, requiring him to warn the qualified voters to meet 
at the meeting house in Canton, on the 6th of March following, at 
one of the clock, P. M., then and there to choose all such officers 
as towns are required by law to elect. 

At a meeting held in pursuance of this warrant, Elijah Dun- 
bar, Esq. was chosen Moderator, and Elijah Crane, Town Clerk. 
Elijah Crane, Dea. Benj. Tucker, and Col. Nathan Crane, Se- 
lectmen and Assessors, and Joseph Bemis, Town Treasurer. 

On April 3d, the first meeting of the new town vyas held for 
the election of Governor, and Increase Sumner had thirty-nine 
votes, James Sullivan twenty, Edward H. Robbins ten, Moses 
Gill seven, and William Heath one. 



35 

May 1st. I'lijali Crane, tlir Inst Rcj)icscntati\ c, was ckctcd li\' 
a mian'miKiis vote. 

On the same dav tlieie was \(»teil: 

For Ili'^liways, ..... $<ySj; 17 

For salary ot' Rev. Zach'li Howard, for i7<)7, ^oo <>j 

And at an ailjourned meeting: 

For town charj^es, . . . . . 8(xj 00 

For schooling, 5 ex j 00 

In 179S the town voted for highways $1 ooc)., town charges 
$600., schooling $500., Mr. Howard's salary $300., and also voted 
to clapboard the back cml of the meeting house and board and 
clapboard the back side of tlie l)elfrv, also to paint the house. 

These votes, and some that follow, will sound strangel\- to us 
at this day, when the town has nothing to do with the building or 
repair of meeting houses or the suppf)rt of the ministrx, and e\ery 
iiulividual selects for his favor and support such churcii as best 
suits him, and is under no (obligation to support anv other. On 
the same page of the record from which I extract tiie foregoing 
vote, I Hnd the registry of a certificate of a committee of the de- 
nominaticni of (^lakers, chosen at their monthb meeting, held at 
Lynn, " that Jonathan Leonard of Canton, doth l>elong to said 
Society." Such certilicates were then necessary in order to relieve 
the person from liability to taxation for l^arish purposes. Many 
present will remember Mr. Leonartl, who was engaged with Adam 
Kinsley in the manufactine of iron and steel, and as I well le- 
member, was usually calleil *' (.)jiaker Leonard." The house in 
which he lived iujw forms a part olthe ^Llssapoag House. 

In 1799, at a meeting held in 1 )ecember, an article was inserted 
in the warrant, "to see if the town will procure and set uj) a 
>tove in the meeting house, loi tin- conxenienci- and comlort of 
those who attend Public Worship in the winti-r season," and 
the article was dismissed. How l<)ng the Parish continued 
without a sto\ e I know not, but if tlie heating apparatus of the 
meeting h<iu!%es in om day \yere dispensed with, I fear the attend- 
aiui' ill winter would be \<i\ sni.dl. 



36 

In 1800, we find the town instructing their representative to pe- 
tition the General Court, and use his influence, to get the fine 
remitted that was imposed upon the town for not sending a rep- 
resentative to the General Court in 1799. 

In 1802, I find this entry upon the records : — 

" Voted that the selectmen procure Lombard de Poplar trees at 
the expense of the town, and that they notify the inhabitants to 
assist in setting them out without expense to the town." 

In this manner, doubtless, the poplar trees, so common, many 
years ago, were introduced. 

1S03. I select these passages, — April 4th: "Voted that the 
selectmen post notification in the Belfry, calling on Youth and oth- 
ers not to make a tarry in Belfry after Public Worship is begun." 

This suggests a query whether the youth of that day were es- 
sentially different from what they are to-day. 

Again, May 2d., "Voted that Joseph Bemis, Wm. Wheeler, 
Henry Bailey, Capt. Abner Crane, Benj. Lewis, and Adam Kins- 
ley, be a committee to deliberate on the subject of Enlarging the 
Singers' Pew, as also, the subject of singing in general, to the end 
that that part of publick worship may be performed with conve- 
niency, decency and in good order." 

In 1805, this vote; " That Henry Bade}', Joseph Bemis and 
Jona. Leonard, be a coi«||^tee to hear the aggrieved parties as 
respects their time ancFexpense in search for Jack Battus, (the 
murderer of the young girl Talbot,) and report at April meeting." 
At April meeting sixteen persons were allowed, in all, $46 50 for 
this service. 

I now propose to give you an idea of the way and manner in 
which they made a contract for a parish minister, seventy years 
ago, which may furnish valuable hints to churches and parishes 
at the present day. 

April 6. " Voted unanimousl}^, that the town concur with the 
church in giving Mr. Wm. Richey a call to the pastoral charge of 
said Church and Society of this town." Thereupon, a committee 
of twenty-five persons was chosen to confer with Mri Richey, as 
to salary, &c., and report at an adjourned meeting. 



37 

One inij^ht suppose tluit poor Mi . Richcy would have stood no 
chance wliatever with a committee of twenty-li\e lull i^rown, 
sharp, safjacious men. I>ut lie seems to have met the ordeal 
bravelv, for on the i^th the committee reporteil that the town 
siioulil j^rant Mr. R. $iO(X). as a settlement, upon certain stated 
comlitions as to len;j;th of service, iVc, anil pay him a salary ot 
$^7^. per annum, ** to he computed upon the foUowinj^ staple ar- 
ticles of lite, on the ist week of Mav, annually, hy such committee 
as the town shall appoint, joined with Mr. Richey, l)y the Boston 
prices. \ i/ : Corn, Rye,. Flour, Salt-Beef <.\: Salt-Pork, Butter, 
Cheese, Wool, Fla\, Sole Leather, i\: ColVee," anil then they pro- 
videil that if the salars was not paid in three moiitlis after it 
became due, " then Mr. Richev to have interest alter it becomes 
due till paitl." "• Also, that the town j^rant him ei<^ht cords of 
good, merchantable hre-wood annuallv, durin;^ the time he shall 
remain without a familv, and sixteen cords annually, w hen he 
shall have a familv." 

It is clear that an impression socmi got abroad that the parson 
hail been too sharp for the committee of twentv-ti\ e ; that (piestion 
<»f interest to be computed on overdue salary, was uncomi'ortal)le. 
So, at the next meeting, so unich of the tbrcgoing vote as related 
to interest was erased, (jr expunged, iiut Mr. Richey, on being 
informed of the repeal, quietly said, in a n(jte to tJie committee, 
that he thought he ought to receive his salary when due, and that 
he should expect interest to be allowed, should there be a ilelin- 
i|uencv of payment. And the town, on hearing the letter read, 
again voted the interest clause, in a somewhat modified form. 

Another dillicultv I llovv much should be paid in cash under 
the contiact based upon the market price of corn, salt pork, and 
the other articles named in the contract. Messrs. I^imbar, Tucker 
and l>emis labored with this problem, for I kin>vv not how hmg, 
but thev s(*lved it at last, and reported the result, — ami also the 
|)rocess by which they arrived at the result, as they said it might 
be useful thereafter, as a precedent. The result was that the casli 
pay for the salary of the minister for the second year of his ser- 
vice was reduced from $575. to $.{So,.}i;. The minister ;q)pended 
10 



a certificate to the report, slightly suggestive of a sort of quiet hu- 
mor, that he had reviewed the calculations made by the com- 
mittee and found the result of them to correspond with the letter 
of the contract. This contract, however, did not always operate 
to the minister's disadvantage, for in one year, during the war of 
1812, his salary amounted to nearly $900. 

1S08. March 7. "Voted to pay a bounty of one dollar per 
head or tail, for every Rattlesnake absolutely taken & killed within 
the town in the months of April, May & October the present year." 

Practically this was very much like offering a bounty of two 
dollars for each snake killed, and very likely it was found to be so, 
for the next year, the town voted the same sum for rattlesnakes' 
tails^ and cautioned the Treasurer " to guard against deception 
when he is applied to for such bounties." 

May 2d. At the election for the choice of a representative, 
Mr. Bemis, who had been the representative for eight successive 
years, and was a candidate for re-election, was also the town clerk. 
His record reads thus : — " The votes being given in, sorted and 
counted, it appeared that Dea. Benj. Tucker had 32 votes, Joseph 
Bemis had 29 votes, and Andrew Capen i vote, and of course," 
says the record, " Dea. Benj. Tucker was elected." 

181 2. The war of 181 2 now begins to be recognized in the 
records of the town. May ^th, Voted to make up the pay for 
pei"sons volunteering to fill up the quota of 100 000 men, to $14. 
per month, if they go into actual service. 

August 15, It was voted that such addition be made to the pay 
of those persons who were drafted from this town under the 
last requisition ol the President of the U. S. as shall make their 
monthly pay eighteen dollars. 

Sept. 12. The town voted to furnish each non-commissioned 
officer and soldier with sixty rounds of ball cartridges, and dii'ected 
the selectmen immediately to purchase six hundred pounds of 
pork, two hundred pounds of beef, and eight hundred pounds of 
bread, for supplying the militia of the town, when called to de- 
fend their country. And also to procure covered baggage wag- 



T,9 

gons, to he ill rc;uliiie>s to accompaiiv the militia when called tn 
the service of their C(Jimtr\. 

I have DO means of giving a statement of the numher of men 
tiirnisheil tor the tlefeiice of the c(nmtrv in this war. The roll.>5 
are all in the cnstodv of the L nited States, at Washington. 

It is lunvever apparent tliat the town was in favor of a vigon^ns 
prosecution of the war, and ccndd l)rook no oppositi(jn. It ap- 
peals that in 1S13, the Rev. Edwarti Richmcjnd of Stonghton 
preacheil a seniKMi in Mr. Richev's ( Ritchie's ) pidpit, on Fast 
Day, in which it is supposed he tlenounced the war. The town 
took the matter in hand. On the 5th of April a committee of 
fifteen made this report : — 

'* (Jentlemen of the town, — Your committee, appointed to take 
into consideration the sul)ject of the Rev. Edward Richm<jnd's 
fast day sermon have attended tlie dutv assigned them, aiul do 
recommend that the town pass a vote expressive of their disap- 
probation that the Rev. Edward Richmond should hereafter be 
introduced into the Desk of Canton Meeting House on Lord's 
Days, Fast Davs, Thanksgiving Davs, and Lecture Days, as a 
teacher of Religious Moralitv, iS:c., and that the Town Clerk be 
directed to serve the Rev. William Ricliev with a copv thereof 
without delav. Elijah DrxnAK, />er orJcr." 

The clerk certifies that the alxne \ ote was taken i)y yeas and 
nays, and it passetl in the allirmati\e. 

1S16. April I. A committee reported that the\ had ])urchased 
frjr the tr)W 11 Ml . Andrew Capen's farm tor $2,750. This is the 
present town farm, which was afterwards sokl and again pur- 
chased, of .Mr. Elislia White, aljout the year 1S37. Mr. Andrew 
Capen was the father of Xahiini Capcn, ICsq., the al)le anth<)r of 
the " Ilistorv of Democracv," and formerly postmaster of Boston. 

A joke is not iiiuommon in our ReC(jrds. 

Mav '>, .\rt. II. '-To see it thi- town will gi\e a l)ountv on 
cn>ws' heads the present year. 

\'oted, on motion of (ien. I^lijah Crane, "that e\er\ man kill 
his own crows." 



40 

1819. Nov. 27. Ill the warrant for town meeting this article 
was inserted on petition : 

" To see if the town will express their opinion, as there are 
three Religious Societies within the town, whether they are wil- 
ling to raise, in any case, any sum of money as a town, for min- 
isterial purposes." 

Dec. 6. On that article it was " Voted that the town of Can- 
ton do not raise any money in future, as a town, for ministerial 
purposes." 

From the date of that vote, I think the town had no further 
connecftion with Parish atiairs, thus anticipating legislation four- 
teen years, for the statute dissevering the parishes from the towns 
did not pass till April i, 1834. 

Having now culled from the town records such matter as I 
have thought might be of interest, down lo the year 1S20, I am 
admonished that I cannot pursue this line further. 

We have seen the country emerge from a state of subjection 
to the British Crown, into a state of national sovereignty and in- 
dependence, and have traced briefly, some of the steps by which 
it was accomplished. 

Stoughton in 1776, was not an insignificant town. In 1765 it 
stood, by the Massachusetts Census, in point of population, the 
nineteenth in the State; the list standing in this order :—» Boston, 
Marblehead, Dartmouth, Salem, Bridgewater, Gloucester, Ip- 
swich, Rehoboth, Middleboro', Nantucket, Newbury, Newburyport, 
Springfield, Taunton, Scituate, Andover, Hingham, Braintree, 
Stoughton. 

The population of Dorchester, tlie mother town, in 1776 was 
but 15 131 while Stoughton had 2097, and Sharon, which before 
that date, had been set ofl" from Stoughton, hail 1261; together, 
then, these two towns, exceeded the population of old Dorchester 
by 1845 souls. In tlie year 1800, Dorchester had a population of 
2347, Stoughton 1020, Canton 11 10, and Sharon 1018. 

The population of the State in 1776, was 295,080. In 1S75 it 
had swelled up to 1.65 1 912. 

The population of the United States in 1776, imperfectly taken, 



4' 

perhaps, tiiidtT tl\c autlioritN dI" the Coiitiiieiilal Omjiicss, was 
2.38^300, ami In tlie I . S. census of 171^0, it was 3.9-*; -i.|. In 
1S70, tlie hist census taken, it was 38.55S371. 

In 1S60, there were in the L'nitecl States, 3-950547 shives, ex- 
ceeding by 21.333, the entire popuhiticju of the countr\ in 1790. 

In the early liays our inliahitants were, to a verv great extent, 
located in the central and nortlierh parts of the town ; this con- 
tinued even to a*coniparati\ ely recent periotl. Here stooil tlie 
old meeting houses ; the post oHice, the taverns, and the stores 
wereiiere. A person of sixtv or sixts-five years of age, niav well re- 
niemlier when there were l)ut twentv ilwellings, or thereabouts, 
on the old Taunton road, l)etween the house of Mr. Samuel 
Downes aiul the Sharon line ; and Init half a dozen at the 
Stone Factorv \'illage. Now tlie southerlv portion of the town 
contains, by far, the larger part of the population ; tour, of the 
five churches, the banks, nearlv all the stores, and most of the 
manufactories. In this town, as evervwhere else, the century 
now closed has witnessed the feeble commencement, as also the 
full development of our manufacturing industries. As already 
shown, it was the policy of (iieat Britain to discourage manufac- 
tures in tiie colonics. Independence gave our people their oppor- 
tunity, and well have thev improved it. One hundred years ago, 
this was, per force, an agricultiual town. Now our people are 
devoted to maiuitacturing jjuisuits. 

Col. Wright, Chief of our labor and Statistical Bureau, has 
kindly favored me with some statistics of the town, from his forth- 
coming report, vi/ : 

I'oiM i.AiioN AM) Si;x. 

Males. ... '975 

Females 2217 

Total. , 4i«>2 

11 



42 

Polls and Voters. 

Ratable Polls 999 

Native voters 506 

Naturalized voters 237 



Total voters 733 



Families and Dwelling-Houses. 

Number of dw^elling-houses 645 

Families 859 



Color and Race. 

MALES. FEMALES. 

White 1970 2209 

Black 5 8 

Conjugal Condition. 

MALES. FEMALES. 

Single 1202 1312 

Married 728 728 

Widowed 44 1 73 

Divorced i 4 

Place of Birth. 

MALES. FEMALES. 

Born in Canton 861 906 

''• '•'■ other towns in Mass. 384 471 

" " " States ^69 214 

" '' foreign countries. . . .546 613 

Birthplace unknown 15 13 

Manufactures and related Occupations. 

Number of establishments • -3*^ 

Capital invested $1,158 550 

Value of goods made and work done 3-085 68 1 

Value of stock used 1 .903 679 

Persons employed. i» 974 

i 458 males. 

( 5i6fem'es. 



43 

I N li .'). 

Xiiinher of cstahlishniciils nj 

Capital invcstL'd $^^3' -37^ 

\'aliic of ^ootls iiKulc aiul work done 2.2Z<j h^z 

\'aliic of stock used 1 040 847 

Persf)iis employed 653 

Mak;) 430,— fcinulos 223 

The \'aliiation of Canton, as estal)lishcd bv the legislature, at 
the last session, for the basis of State taxes, is $3,242.2^4 cx3, as 
assessed by the assessors in 1S75, not including corporate stocks, 
$3-05^055 00. 

Schools. 

Number of scholars between the ages of five and tlt'teen 930. 
Number of schools seventeen. Numl)er of teachers nineteen. 

The resident Representatives, dining the centurv, number in 
all but thirty-eight ditVercnt individuals. I give their names, witii 
the scr\ice of each, viz : 

Benjamin ( jill, i 776. 

Thomas Crane, 1776, '77, '78, 'Si. 

Elijah Dunbar, 1 7S0, 'S2, '87, '93. 

Christopher W adswoith, i 78(j. 
John Kenny, 1 783. 

Capt. James Endicott, 1784, '8^, 'S6, '90. 

Lapt. I'rederick Pope, 1787, '88, 89, '91, '<^2, '96. 

I'^lijah Crane, 1795, '97. 

Joseph IJemis, iSoo, '01 , '02, '03, '04, '(^5, 'ob, '07, '11, '12, '13. 

Benjamin Tucker, 1808, '09, '10. 

Lemuel Whiting, 181 1, '12, '13. 

Abel W'entworth, (senif)r,) 1812. 

I'rietul Crane, 18 14. 

|(jhn Bailey, 181 5, '16, 17, 

.Samuel Capen, 1819, *20, '29. 
Jonathan Leonard, 1823. 

Thomas French, 1824, '2(), '27. 



44 

Thomas Tolman, 1828, '36. 

Elijah Spare, 1830. 

James Endicott, 1S32, '33. 

James Blackman, 1834, '35. 

Michael Shaller, 1834, 35. 

Nathaniel French, 1S37. 

Abel Wentworth, 1836, '37, '38. 

Isaac Horton, 1838, '39. 

John Gay, 1840, '41, 42. 

John Endicott, 1843, '44. 

Lyman Kinsley, 1849. 

Charles Endicott, 185 1, '57, 58. 

Charles H. French, 1853, '54. 

George Capen, 1855. 

Samuel Davenport, 1S56. 

John S. Eldridge, 1S59, '60. * 

Oliver S. Chapman, 1863, '64. ' 

Joseph Leavitt, 1868. 

Frank M. Ames, 1869, 

James S. Shepard, 1871, '72. 

Elijah A. Morse, 1S76. 

I have, on this occasion, neither time nor material for church, 
family, or individual history ; that must be given hereafter, by abler 
pens. Fortunately, we have those w^ho are competent for the 
task ; Mr. Ames can tell us the age of everybody living, and all 
the history of such as are dead, — of the legislation of the British 
Parliament, and the action of the king in council with reference 
to the entire legislation of the Colony and Province, — of the his- 
tory of the Redman Farm, and the earlv land titles, both of Nor- 
folk and Plymouth. 

Mr. Noyes can give us graphic descriptions of the old church 
and its ministers, from Morse to Savary, embracing, among 
others, Dunbar, Howard, Ritchie, Huntoon, and Brownson. 

Mr. Huntoon will give us individual and family history, — throw 
further light upon the history of the church and its ministers, — tell 



45 

us of Ponkipo;^ and tlie apostk- Eliot, — ofthc faiiioiis meeting's at 
Duty's Tavern, and cverytliiiii,' known of the old Kn<4lihli clunch 
and its last minister, — and llnallv, point out to us the "ancient 
landmarks." 

With these j^entlemcn, and tiieir tomes of local historic lore, there 
can he no excuse it' Canton is not speedily provided with a com- 
plete and most valuahle historv. 

It is useless tor me to attempt to portra\ the pro<;ress ot" the 
century ; it may be seen in almost everythiiif; and almost every- 
where. 

Our civilization has spread iVom the coasts ami shcjrcs ofthc 
Atlantic, step by step, across the fertile valle\s antl o\ er the mag- 
nificent prairies of the West to the <^olden sliores of the Pacilic. 

Eighty thousand miles of railway tra\erse the country, and 
every city and town is within easy reach of the station and the 
telegraph. 

We have tVeedom of conscience and the freedom of the Press. 
The equality of rights for all men, declareil in the Declaration, 
has become an actual fact, instead of a "glittering generality." 

The great War of the Rel)ellion came, and the nation, for nearly 
five years struggled for existence ; l)ut in that struggle, the gigantic 
institution of American sla\erv, holding in its grasp four mil- 
lions of slaves, tottered on its old foundations and went down 
tore\er. And now, we are at ])eace with all the world, let us de- 
mand of the government that it be not lightly distmbed. Justice 
and Freedom, Peace and Prfjsperitv, should be the national aim. 

Our flag is respected by all the nations ; and when, but yes- 
terday, it was rudely assailed by fratricidal hands, a million brave 
men bared their breasts to its defence, and bore it alof't U> tri- 
umphant victory. 

Let us hope, by the blessing of Almighty (Jod, that the Oi.ii 
I''l.Ai,, with 

" lu broad atriprn iiml liri|,'tit Ktam," 

may continue to be the living emblem of our United Nationalitv, 
to the latest generation. 



46 

At the close of Mr. Endicott's Address, the choir sang 
" The Star Spangled Banner." Then followed short, but appro- 
priate remarks by Rev. George W. Hosmer, D. D. of New- 
ton, Rev. William H. Savary, Hon. Charles H. French, 
J. Mason Everett, Elijah A. Morse, Thomas E. Bowman, 
Robert Draper, and Frederic Endicott, of Canton. Mr. 
Morse was invited by the President to speak in behalf of the leg- 
islature, and responded as follows : 

The legislative form of government of the Colony of Plymouth 
and of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts was born with the 
compact in the cabin of the Mayflower, amidst the prayers of de- 
vout and godly men. For two hundred and fifty years the legis- 
lature of Massachusetts has been loyal to the King of Kings, true 
to liberty, to education, to the rights of man, did her duty nobly, 
spoke to the country and to the world with no uncertain sound, 
in the great struggle for liberty, when threatened by treason. 
The legislature of 1S76, not degenerate sons of noble sires, but 
the peer of the legislature of any State, of any land, in any 
clime beneath the bending arches of the skies. 

The hymn '■'■ America," was then sung, and the exercises 
closed with the Benediction. 



The following are names of the persons, composing the choir: 

Mr. Horace H. Mansfield, Director. 

Mrs. Frank M. Ames. Mrs. James S. Shepard. 

Miss J. Annie Bense. Miss Georgia A. Shepard. 

Mrs. W. Henry Bense. Mr. Geo. Frederick Sumner, 

Miss Eveline L. Bullard. Mr. W. Henry Bense. 

Mrs. Emma P. Capen. Mr, Robert Draper. 

Miss Annie I. Capen. Mr. Charles H. Eager. 

Mrs. Samuel Crowther. Mr. Edward R. Hixon. 

Miss Cyn :ia A. Endicott. Mr. George F. H. Horton. 

Mrs, D. C. F. Ellis. Mr. Richard Howard. 



47 



Mrs. Ciraii\ illc H. Il.iilow. 
Mrs. l>illi^^^s liiwitt. 
Miss i:ihi M. Hill. 
Mis. Alcxaiulcr R. Holmes. 
Mrs. Albion \V. Kinslcv. 
Miss Helen G. Kinsley. 
Mrs. William B. Shattuck. 



Mr. Frank M. Howes. 
Mr. Jonathan LinlieUl. 
Mr. Lntlier H. Morse. 
Mr. John 15. Roliinson. 
Mr. William B. ShatUick. 
Mr. Willis S. Shepard. 



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